Toyota RAV4 sales up 5 percent in 2019, remains top selling SUV

Toyota RAV4 is still dominating the SUV market as its sales went up by 4.9 percent in 2019 with 448,068 units sold in the United States. It has remained top selling SUV for last three years and continues on its growth trajectory unhindered.

Toyota RAV4 has always remained a popular choice in U.S., but after 2008 economic recession it has seen constant growth in sales year after year for past eight years. This is mainly due to newfound love for crossover SUVs as Americans desired bigger vehicles but didn’t want to spend big on gas. Toyota RAV4 being one of the most fuel efficient vehicles in its class with its hybrid version offering 40 miles per gallon became a more preferable choice for most customers seeking crossovers.

Yearly sales chart 1995 to 2019

Toyota RAV4 is not only leading in crossover category, but also became the number one selling hybrid vehicle in 2019 for the first time in US with 92,525 units sold, beating Prius.

Looking at the competition, Toyota RAV4 sales are about 17 percent higher than its followup Honda CR-V which sold 384,168 units in 2019, up 1 percent than previous year. Next up is Nissan Rogue with 350,447 units sold, but saw a colossal drop of 15 percent in sales compared to 2018.

Next up is Chevrolet Equinox, selling 346,048 vehicles in 2019, up 4 percent year over year. Jeep Grand Cherokee came at 5th position with 242,969 sales with huge 8 percent jump is sales from preceding year. At 6th place Ford Escape sold 241,388 units, down 11 percent YOY. Toyota Highlander witnessed a 2 percent drop in sales with 239,438 vehicles.

Jeep Wrangler came at 8th place with 228,032 SUVs sold in 2019, down 5 percent as compared to 2018. Jeep Cherokee sales plummeted to 191,397 after seeing a monumental drop of 20 percent. Subaru Outback ranked as 10th best selling SUV with 181,178 units sold, up about 1 percent from prior year. Next up is Subaru Forester at 11th spot with 171,613 sales, up 5 percent. Finally, at 12th place, with 168,309 sales, Ford Explorer saw an astronomical drop of 26 percent.

It should be emphasized here that RAV4 is the one responsible for today’s crossover craze in US. Toyota debuted this vehicle in Japan and Europe in 1994 and later in North America in early 1996. No other automaker was manufacturing crossovers at that time, therefore the crown of top selling SUV is well deserved.